Where Have All The Members Gone?

We need your support to keep COMARA operational.
Your payments are so important to keep our web site up to date.
Annual membership dues are only $15 per year, or $30 for two years.

During 2016, we received 128 membership payments,
many of which covered 2016 and 2017.

During 2017, we received 113 membership payments,
many of which covered 2017 and 2018.

This year, we have received only 72 membership payments
for 2018 and for 2019.
We really need to get another 41 dues paying members by
year end to break even with our expenses.

If you have already paid your membership dues in 2018,
we thank you for your loyalty and your generosity.
If you have not sent in your membership dues this year,
please consider making a year end membership donation to COMARA today.
All dues payments received in December will be credited to your 2019
(and possibly 2020) membership dues.
Please see the bottom of our Home Page for dues payment instructions at comara.org.

If you look at all of our web pages, your must realize
how your membership dues are being used to support the Comsat family
of alumni and retirees.
The COMARA Board of Directors really appreciate your membership support
and your feedback as we work hard to keep our Comsat memories alive and
keep our Comsat community linked together.

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If you already have a PayPal account, you can use that for Dues Payment

Please see the bottom of our Home Page more information.

Pictures from First Wednesday 2018 Gathering

Paul Schrantz has provided a number of photos he took at the Dec 5, 2018
First Wednesday in December Event. These pictures will be available here
in a couple of days. Check back.

Jane P. Kinzie - December 5, 2018

The beautiful, brilliant, and super competent Jane P. Kinzie of
Bethesda Maryland was defeated by a voracious cancer
and died Wednesday, December 5.
She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Robert W. Kinzie
and two step children, Elizabeth Kinzie Allman of Coos Bay, Oregon
and Jacob A. Kinzie along with three grandchildren residing in Poolesville Md.

Jane had a career in satellite communications starting in 1968 at COMSAT
and retiring from INTELSAT in l990 as Director of Human Resources
to pursue her love of flowers, creating Kinzie Farms Nursery with
12 green houses in Poolesville Maryland.
She was an award-winning Azalea grower providing plants to garden centers
including Merrifield, Behnke, and American Plant.
She also provided plants for the Landon School Azalea Festival.

In 2003, Jane was instrumental in the startup and management of
Kinzie Backup Generator Systems, an award-winning family business
headquartered in Bethesda.

She was active as a founder and Board Member of the INTELSAT retiree's
association, writing and editing the Via Intelsat newsletter.
Jane obtained her college degree in English at Utah University
and her Masters in English at the University of Oregon.

Jane lived a meaningful life, was highly regarded and loved by all
who were in her orbit. She will be missed.

There will be a memorial celebration of life in the late spring when the
azalea are in bloom.

Wallace Mack, III Services December 17, 2018

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle passed away December 10, 2018
in Fairfax, VA.
A Londonderry, NH native, and Vienna, VA resident since 1971.
Satellite communications engineer since the heady days of the 1960s and 1970s,
lifelong tinkerer (often to his family's chagrin).

A funeral Mass will be held on Monday, December 17, at 1 p.m.
at St. Mark Catholic Church, 9970 Vale Rd, Vienna, VA 22181.
Reception to follow.

2018 COMSAT Alumni Social Photos

About 35 people attended the 2018 COMARA Social on Sunday, September 30 at
Thats Amore on Shady Grove Road in Rockville. Denis Curtin
made arrangements for the venue. Geze Serenyi (treasurer) collected checks
from our PO Box, and email notices from PayPal as our members paid for the
event.

Paul Schrantz and Ron Garlow took pictures at the event. This album contains
51 photos taken during the event. This One Drive album is provided without
charge by Microsoft for any user with an Outlook email account. The owner
of the account creates the album, and then uploads copies of the pictures.
Microsoft handles the formatting of the photo display for computer, tablet,
or smart phone.

There was some discussion of the support COMARA members have provided to the
National Electronics Museum, located near BWI airport.

First Wednesday in December

Dec 5, 2018, 1:30pm
Woodfield Deli
Germantown Commons

Pay your Server

Board Election Results

Maury Mechanick - 47 votes

David Lee - 46 votes

Richard Rankin - 43 votes

Next Board Meeting

Thu. Dec 13, 2018, 11:30am

Chez Mechanick

Upcoming COMARA Events

COMSAT Slide Collection

One of the COMSAT Legacy collections is a box containing nearly 1100 slides.
Dan DiFonzo recently took on the job of scanning the slides so our members,
and the world can share them. This is a gargantuan job. Dan has created a OneDrive album and uploaded the slides to this album.
This is a massive collection with a size of about 2GB.

From Dan DiFonzo: As promised, here is the link to view and/or download the 1100 Comsat
slides that I scanned and digitized. These images have been uploaded
to a OneDrive album.

The notation on each slide refers to the drawer that contained the slides
in the 3 across x 6 down set of plastic drawers.
Otherwise, the slides are numbered in the order I scanned them.
Only 14 of the drawers had slides.
Daniel F. DiFonzo

If you have already paid your 2018 membership dues, thank you for your support.
If you have not yet paid your 2018 membership dues of $15 per year,
please send a check to COMARA using our PO Box or use PayPal.
Better yet, please send in $30 for both your 2018 and 2019 membership dues.